York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by On-Site Archaeology Ltd on land to the rear of 29-31 Lawrence Street, York, in August to September 2014 at the request of Skelton Consultancy Ltd. Excavation confirmed the presence of archaeological deposits and features on the site. Natural deposits were shown to lie at a depth of approximately 2.00m below the modern ground surface. Several features, including at least one probable structure, were revealed cutting into the natural. These features were dated to the medieval period, but also contained pottery of Roman and Anglo-Scandinavian date, suggesting that earlier features are likely to be present in the immediate vicinity of the trench. These earliest features were sealed by a homogenous layer dated to the early medieval period, suggestive of a period of agricultural or horticultural landuse. This was then succeeded by the construction of an oven structure, which is likely to have been located within the rear, service ranges of buildings fronting Lawrence Street. At their highest surviving level the medieval features were recorded at a depth of 1.55m below the modern ground surface. They were sealed by approximately 0.70m thickness of later medieval agricultural soils, and a further 0.85m thickness of post-medieval to modern deposits.